TONIGHT’S GAME:
The Rangers will conclude their three-game road trip when they face-off against the Florida Panthers at BankAtlantic Center (5:00 p.m.), in the second game of a back-to-back set. The Blueshirts currently rank third in the Atlantic Division standings, and sixth in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 22-14-3 (47 pts). The Rangers enter the contest having been defeated by the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1, in overtime last night at St. Pete Times Forum, and have now registered a point in 17 of their last 24 games (15-7-2). The Panthers enter the contest with a 16-17-2 (34 pts) record to rank 12th in the Eastern Conference, and have registered a point in five of their last six games (3-1-2). Following the contest, the Rangers will return to action when they face-off against the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday, Jan. 5, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in their third straight game vs. a Southeast Division opponent.

* All-Time: 37-23-6-4 overall (18-12-4-0 at home, 19-11-2-4 on the road)
* 2010-11: Tonight is the second of four meetings this season, and the second at BankAtlantic Center. New York is 1-0-0 thus far, including a 1-0-0 mark on the road following a 3-0 win at Florida on Nov. 26.
* Last Season: New York was 3-1-0 overall and 2-0-0 on the road. The Rangers out-scored the Panthers, 6-2, at Florida last season.
* The Rangers rank first with a 13-6-1 (27 pts) record on the road; the Panthers rank 28th with a 7-6-2 (16 pts) mark at home
* The Rangers are 2-4-2 vs. the Southeast Division; the Panthers are 3-4-0 against the Atlantic Division
* Henrik Lundqvist is 11-5-1 with a 1.77 goals against average and four shutouts in 17 career games vs. the Panthers; Martin Biron is 7-11-1-0 with a 2.71 goals against average in 20 career contests vs. the Panthers
* Marian Gaborik has tallied five goals, five assists and 10 points in 12 career regular season contests vs. the Panthers
* New York lists two former Panthers on their roster: Vinny Prospal (2000-01); Steve Eminger (2008-09)
* Florida lists two former Rangers on their roster: Radek Dvorak (1999-00 – 2002-03); Christopher Higgins (2009-10)

SPECIAL TEAMS:
The Blueshirts have posted a plus-seven rating on special teams (PPG+SHG minus PPGA+SHGA) this season, which is tied for seventh in the league.

* Power Play: The Rangers did not tally a goal in two power play opportunities (4:00) last night at Tampa Bay, and have now registered a goal in eight of the last 13 games (9-46, 19.6% over the span). New York ranks 18th overall (24-141, 17.0%) and 16th on the road (12-68, 17.6%). The Rangers are 1-5 (5:01) in five-on-three situations (last – 11/24 at TBL), and 0-2 (2:23) when four-on-three (last – 12/3 vs. NYI). Shorthanded goals allowed (2): 11/20 at MIN (Cullen); 12/5 vs. OTT (Kelly).
* Penalty Killing: The Blueshirts held the Lightning scoreless in three shorthanded situations (6:00) last night at Tampa Bay, and are now 71-81 (87.7%) over the last 27 games. New York ranks 11th overall (111-134, 82.8%) and eighth on the road (64-77, 83.1%). The Rangers are 4-6 (5:08) in three-on-five situations (last – 10/30 at TOR), and 4-6 (2:41) when three-on-four (last – 11/15 at PIT). Shorthanded goals for (8): 10/9 at BUF (Dubinsky); 11/5 at NJD (Dubinsky); 11/15 at PIT (Staal); 11/24 at TBL (Boyle); 11/26 at FLA (Prust); 12/5 vs. OTT (Prust); 12/12 vs. WSH (Staal); 12/16 vs. PHX (Prust).
* Four-on-Four: New York surrendered one goal in one, four-on-four situation (0:19) last night at Tampa Bay, and are now plus-two in 29, four-on-four situations (51:34). Four-on-four goals for (4): 10/18 vs. COL (Frolov); 11/11 vs. BUF (Anisimov); 11/15 at PIT (Callahan); 12/12 vs. WSH (Callahan). Four-on-four goals allowed (2): 10/15 vs. TOR (Kessel); 1/1 at TBL (Thompson).

BACK-TO-BACKS
Tonight’s contest will conclude the Rangers’ 10th of 18 back-to-back sets this season. The Blueshirts are 9-0-0 (4-0-0 at home, 5-0-0 on the road) in the second game of back-to-backs this season, having out-scored their opponent, 31-9, in those games. Over the last two seasons, New York is 18-2-2 in the back-end of back-to-back sets, including a 8-1-1 mark at MSG and 10-1-1 on the road over the span.

SHOOTING GALLERY
The Blueshirts were credited with a season-high, 52 shots in their 7-2 win vs. the Islanders on Monday, their most since they registered 57 shots vs. the Islanders on Mar. 5, 2007 (2-1 win). The Rangers tied their season-high for most shots in a period with 18 in each of the first two periods, and their 36 shots through two periods is the most since recording 37 shots through two vs. Washington on Oct. 12, 2007 (20 in the first, 17 in the second in a 3-1 win). The Blueshirts’ 32-shot advantage over the Islanders on Monday (52-20) is tied for the second largest in the NHL this season, behind St. Louis’ 39-shot advantage over Anaheim on Oct. 11 (53-14).

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES
Compared to last season, the Blueshirts have shown a four wins, seven points improvement, having tallied 14 more goals (including a four-goal improvement while shorthanded) while allowing 12 fewer goals against through 39 games.

20-WINS
The Rangers registered their 20th win of the season with a 4-3 shootout win vs. Phoenix on Dec. 16, reaching the mark in just 34 games which is tied for 12th fastest in franchise history.

TEAM EFFORT
The Rangers have had 14 different players credited with at least one game winning goal this season, which is tied with Washington for the most in the NHL.

LITTLE THINGS MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE
The Rangers currently lead the NHL with 1,124 hits and rank third with 620 blocked shots. Ryan Callahan ranked second in the league with 128 hits and led all NHL forwards with 40 blocked shots prior to his injury on Dec. 15, while Dan Girardi currently leads the league with 110 blocked shots and Brian Boyle is tied for 10th in the NHL with 115 hits.

THE HOT LIST:

* The last time the Rangers were at least eight games over .500 in the standings was on Apr. 12, 2009 (43-30-9)
* The Rangers lead the league in shorthanded goals (eight), are tied for seventh in wins (22), eighth in points (47), and rank 10th in goals (119), and seventh with a plus-19 goal differential
* Henrik Lundqvist is 9-4-2 with a 1.84 goals against average, a .932 save percentage and three shutouts in his last 15 games
* Marian Gaborik has recorded 20 points (11 goals, nine assists) in his last 21 games, including three points (two goals, one assist) in the last three contests
* Derek Stepan has registered 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in the last 23 contests, including six points (four goals, two assists) in the last six
* Brian Boyle has recorded 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in the last 12 games, including five points (two goals, three assists) in the last four
* Chris Drury has tallied four assists in the last six games
* Brandon Dubinsky has registered 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in the last 13 contests, including five points (two goals, three assists) in the last four
* Dan Girardi has recorded six points (one goal, five assists) in the last eight games
* Alex Frolov has tallied five points (two goals, three assists) in the last eight games
* Marc Staal has tallied 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in the last 17 games, including six points (two goals, four assists) in the last nine
* Artem Anisimov has recorded six points (two goals, four assists) in the last eight games, with three assists in the last four
* Michal Rozsival has registered six points (one goal, five assists) in the last 10 games
* Ruslan Fedotenko has tallied four points (two goals, two assists) in the last six games
* Brandon Prust has registered eight points (four goals, four assists) in the last 13 games

What I learned last night is that Gaborik should just set up near the crease/near the net and let other playmakers feed him the puck. He was in PERFECT position last night for the game tying goal and stuck it in.

It’s painfully (arthritically) obvious that Gaborik cant create for himself – especially against the good teams.

I got CARPED for the 1st time in 2011!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WahoooO!!!!!

CTB – Im only going on what’s been seen of Gaborik this season. What happened in the past is the past. He’s an injury prone player that gets knocked off the puck too easily. He’s a good passer, but cant create scoring for himself except against the lower teams.

I absolutely refused to watch the Winter Classic but all this talk of the really cool view from the blimp has me interested in seeing it….. and although I declared right here in prime time that I wouldn’t watch none of youse guys would hold it against me for some post game viewing. Does anybody have a link to a pic or vid from the blimp?

I was bummed that we lost last night. I really really wanted to start the year with a W (not dubya).

what i dont get, is how does ec make those sweet shootout goals almost every time, but cant score when hes playing against opponents? its like in bloodsport when van damme brock some bricks, then chong li started clapping and said? brick no hit back?!!! so hes soft imo. get him outta here. we could tell papsmear his ban on nyc clubs is suspended, and have him play part time for us.

He’s one season removed from a pretty damn good season. I’m not 100% convinced he’s fully healthy either. He’s still got the best gamebreaking ability on the team and is the only player that consistently creares rebounds with his shots on goal. How many of Stamkos’s goals are created by hanging on the left circle on the PP waiting for a feed to one time? A underwhelming 20 or so game stretch doesn’t undermine an entire body of work.

CTB – You’re right about 20 games not overshadowing an entire body of work.

But from what he did towards the end of last season coupled with what he’s done this season, he’s just too easy to knock off the puck. For him, quit trying to be pretty, get your rocket shot on net and create rebounds or set people up with your excellent passing.

Like I said, he was in a perfect position last night and got a great feed in front to stick the game tying goal in. I think he would help the team out more if he got in those types of positions (or just got shots on net) rather than losing the puck and giving up odd man rushes against.

Tiki, Gaby is a not the same player he was last year. He is physically banged up and Torts says his confidence is lacking. Hopefully, Vinny Prospal will wake him up. If Prospal doesn’t do it, then I am not sure who or what will…

I’ll say it again – most teams have a first line we have a first line player. Gaborik had an exceptional year last season without a supporting cast to play along side of and this year he doesn’t have even the likes of Prospal. When we can find him atleast one top line type player to play with for a clip of games we’ll see him get hot.